Tiiso Mosoeu: The Voice of the Afternoon

Radio Veritas afternoon show host Tiiso Mosoeu lives by two Bible verses. One is, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). The other is from St Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (4:11). The devout Catholic has fared well with these two maxims. He talked to Daluxolo Moloantoa about his love for radio and his faith.

Tiiso was born on May 13, 1986, the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima. The eldest of the three children of Tshediso Charles and Tebogo Patricia Mosoeu, he was raised in Molapo, Soweto. Tiiso did all his schooling at St Matthew’s Primary and Secondary School in Moroka, Soweto, matriculating in 2003.

“My earliest memories of being a Catholic date back to when I was five years old. I recall the Mass at Our Lady of the Assumption, my home parish in Molapo,” he recalled. “At around the same time I started school at St Matthew’s, and we would attend Mass services at Regina Mundi church, which is adjacent to the school.”

He remembers the morning assemblies at the school, during which hymns would be sung. “Two of these have been engraved in my heart from those days: ‘Mame Wethu’ and ‘Inhliziyo Ka Jesu’. Hearing those hymns always take me back to those assemblies during my primary school years,” he said.

At the age of 12, Tiiso became an altar server in his home parish, thanks to the encouragement of the late Fr Patrick Mohohlo Maselwane OMI — who later would be a regular on Radio Veritas himself. He served at the altar for six years until 2004, when he turned 18 years old and enrolled for a media studies diploma at Boston Media House in Johannesburg.

Love for radio

Tiiso’s love for radio goes back to when he was eight years old. He would be glued to Radio Metro in the afternoon after school and on weekends, at the time of DJs like Grant Shakoane, Bob Mabena, Treasure Shabalala, Glen Lewis, Desiree Makote and so on. “I would record songs playing on Radio Metro on cassette on my tape deck. This would land me in trouble, because sometimes I used some of my parents’ tapes and recorded over their music.”

Listening to the galaxy of Metro DJs playing great music, Tiiso wanted to be on the radio himself. By his matric year, Tiiso resolved that if a career in radio did not happen for him, he would become an actor. To that end, he attended auditions at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria for studies in drama. It did not work out as he had envisaged. In 2003 he came across Boston Media House. “I never looked back,” he said.

His majors were radio production and public relations. His graduation in 2007 did not land him a position in the field of his passion, radio. Instead he took on a job as a public relations officer for a mobile music company. After just two years in the position, he resigned to focus fully on pursuing his dream of a career in radio.

“My interest in radio grew out of my love for music, writing and reading,” the husband and father of two recalled. “In 2006, during my final year at Boston Media House, I became involved with the college’s in-house publication, for which I wrote music reviews of new album releases. And in my first job, I’d prepare press releases for the music artists the company was affiliated with. So the combination of these three loves fuelled my love for radio,” he said.

After leaving his public relations position in 2009, Tiiso devoted himself to pursuing a radio career. “I would produce skits for Jozi FM and YFM in Gauteng. Those opportunities came from the relationships I had with some personalities at both stations. However, that never resulted in me being fully taken on by these radio stations,” he said.

Coming to Veritas

But an opportunity opened up in 2011. Radio Veritas had a show called “Youthwise”, presented by Kananelo Mapoko. She invited Tiiso to join its production team. And so he started off as a volunteer for the Catholic radio station, combining his love for broadcasting and his faith.

A year later, Radio Veritas was licensed to broadcast on medium wave, meaning it was now going to reach a broader audience across Gauteng. “As a result, Fr Emil Blaser, the founder and station director of Radio Veritas, was looking to assemble a formidable team for his breakfast show. And he picked me to be a part of it,” Tiiso recalled.

In 2013, Tiiso became a full-time staff member of Radio Veritas. The member of the Sacred Heart Sodality has now been the host of the “Tug of Love” show for six years.

“I had to fill in big shoes! The show had previously been known as ‘Soft Options’. It was one of the anchor shows on the station, and it was presented by Khanya Litabe,” Tiiso said. Khanya is now Radio Veritas’ station director and presents the weekday morning show, “Matins”. When Khanya cannot host the show, Tiiso usually stands in.

The “Tug of Love” show, weekdays from 14:00 to 16:00, focuses on spiritual growth, the celebration of life milestones for listeners (such as birthdays and anniversaries), sports news, song battle challenges, and health features. Its tagline is, “Pulling ourselves closer to God and allowing God to pull us closer to him” — which explains the show’s name.

Tiiso also hosts a Saturday morning show, “729 Blessing Avenue”, presented with Njabulo Mkhwanazi and Mpho Mashele, from 8:00 to 9:00.

Many special memories

In a career that has now spanned over a decade, Tiiso had made many memories. A special one of these was travelling to eSwatini with Fr Russell Pollitt SJ and journalist Ranjeni Moonsamy to attend a media conference. Being hosted by Bishop José Luis Ponce de León of Manzini was a notable experience for Tiiso.

“Other milestone memories include interviewing Archbishop William Slattery while he was attending a synod in Rome. There were also live studio interviews on the station with gospel music stars such as Dr Rebecca Malope, Dr Tumi, and the legendary jazz artist Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse,” Tiiso recalled.

But none of these represent the zenith of happy memories. “My best highlight happens daily. This is when I interact with my listeners. I feel connected to them, and I view them as family members. That’s how deeply connected I become with my listeners,” he said.

Tiiso sees an increasing awareness of Catholic media in South Africa’s Catholic community.

“When we see publications like The Southern Cross being around for over a century, it means there is hope. Radio Veritas just celebrated 25 years, and the goal is to see more progress as it translates to empowerment in our Catholic faith. My dream is to see more publications growing like the Archdiocesan News in Johannesburg, and greater listenership and accessibility to Radio Veritas — just good news being spread more and making headlines,” he said.

His advice to young Catholics dreaming of a career in media is to “be intentional”. “Know why you want to be involved in that space — not for the fame or fortune. Be prepared to serve, because at the end of the day, we are all servants. Most importantly, do it for the glory of God. Catholic radio or other media is nothing like secular media, where headlines are chased for the wrong reasons. Don’t do it for likes and comments on social media, but do it for the love. Be passionate and selfless!”

For Tiiso, God is the anchor and the guide. His prayer routine is based on the two scriptures mentioned at the beginning of this article.

“I am a pray-as-you-go type of character,” Tiiso said. “I pray anywhere I am, in whatever I am doing. It could be before I have an interview whose subject I know nothing about. It could be when I am travelling. It could be before the start of my show. When I end my show daily, I always say, ‘Gratitude is the attitude’.”

Published in the January2025 issue of The Southern Cross magazine